Nate Diaz has hit back at welterweight contender Gilbert Burns after the Brazilian’s comments following his UFC 263 fight.
Diaz returned to the Octagon for the first time in over a year on June 12, but fell to a second consecutive loss after England’s Edwards controlled the majority of their fight. But thanks to his last minute resurgence and his always-entertaining style, the defeat has done nothing to harm his reputation among the fans.
Despite collecting a largely comfortable victory on the judges’ scorecards and extending his unbeaten streak to 10, Edwards’ performance at the PPV doesn’t seem to have convinced everyone that he should be next in line for a 170-pound title shot.
After Dana White had reiterated that “Rocky” still sits behind Colby Covington, former title challenger Gilbert Burns supported the decision, saying that “…a lot of guys that beat Nate” did it far more impressively.
Having earned a title shot with dominant wins over Demian Maia and former champion Tyron Woodley, “Durinho” knows what it takes to impress White and the UFC matchmakers.
Burns stated that if he’d been in Edwards’ position going into the final round, he’d have gone for the kill.
Nate Diaz appears to have taken exception to the comments. He took to his Twitter to poke fun at Burns’ knockout losses to “The Nigerian Nightmare” and lightweight contender Dan Hooker.
“He would’ve got knocked out like when u faught hooker and usman you got ur hungry Ass slept Amateur”
Diaz is, of course, referring to Burns’ recent championship fight with Usman, where the Brazilian was defeated via TKO in the third round. His previous defeat was back in 2018 before his return to welterweight. The KO loss to “The Hangman” is clearly something Diaz hasn’t forgotten.
While the Stockton native looks for his next opponent, Burns is set to return to action on July 10 at UFC 264. In the co-main event, the 34-year-old will look to make his case for a second crack at UFC gold with a victory over perennial contender Stephen Thompson.
How do you think a fight between Diaz and Burns would play out?
